August 31, 2008

Could Ed Reed be the new Glenn Davis?

When Ravens safety Ed Reed revealed that he's suffering from a "nerve impingement' in his neck that has affected his shoulder and could threaten his career, I had a nasty Orioles flashback.

The Ravens are loathe to give real specifics on injuries, but it's fair to wonder if the problem that has sidelined one of the NFL's best defensive players is similar to the one that forced a premature end to the baseball career of former Oriole Glenn Davis.

Davis, every Orioles fan unhappily recalls, was acquired by the Orioles in a trade for Curt Schilling, Steve Finley and Pete Harnisch, three players who all went on to better things after the supposed blockbuster deal. Davis never lived up to his reputation as one of the most dangerous power hitters in baseball, because of a nerve injury suffered during his first spring with the Orioles.

He damaged the spinal accessory nerve in his neck during an exhibition at-bat in March of 1991, the severity of the problem only becoming apparent when the trapezius muscle in his right shoulder began to wither. He spent a couple of years trying to regain his powerful swing, but was never the same.

Hopefully, there's no such parallel with Reed, but he's all but certain to miss the season opener next week and could be out for the season. He even speculated Friday that if surgery is necessary to correct the problem, his career might be over.

Comments

I think the LARGE contract has more to do with Ed Reed not having the correct NERVE. Since his big payday he has been in the wrong position and getting burned often. That type of burning is what is causing his NERVE damage. For more information, please see other big contracts and the associated loss of nerve... HEAP, Macgahee, Mcalister. It is amusing to see all of those big money contracts sit on the sidelines. At least Ed Reed admitted it is a NERVE problem, or lack there of!!!!

The two most painful things that i have experienced are 1) a pinched nerve once in my elbow & more than a few times in my feet; 2) a strained achilles tendon several times. They are both similar in that the pain is constant & searing and just as painful when resting.

I wonder if the Ravens weren't a little "suspicious" since they drafted two safeties. Sure they can explain it by saying the two safeties enhanced their special teams. It seems that they "reached" on the first & then followed it up by drafting another.

It's all too easy (and tiresome) for us to sit back and slam a player for missing time on the field, blaming contracts, team culture, etc. etc. I'm as frustrated as the next guy when our best players aren't out there, but to suggest he's only in it for a CONTRACT, or ready to jump ship when things aren't going well is shameful.

Reed committed to this team, and to making himself one of the best in history, the day he was handed his purple and black. He proceeded to throw every ounce of his body into every play. It's costing him his ability to perform now, and maybe forever, but it's downright embarrassing to me as a Baltimore fan to see fans I cheer with suggest he's not committed to football, winning, and his own legacy.

Glenn Davis is also a jerk... I used to go trick or treating on Halloween at his house when I was a kid, and he wouldn't answer the door even though you could see they were home. Some ballplayer to look up to.
I hope Ed Reed is not a non-halloween-door-answering jerk too. HAHA

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Pete's reply: I've got to defend Glenn on this one. He was a very nice guy, but he also was very religious and -- I'm guessing -- his family did not celebrate Halloween for that reason.

If he is hurt he should leave. I can only believe that the Ravens have competent doctors, If he is a gold digger put him on the IR for the season and cut him next year. It will only benefits the team in the end and sends a signal to the rest of the VETERNS. PLAY OR GET THE H... OUT!

I've never been this worried about the Ravens before. With all the injuries and quarterback problems it looks like they're turning into the football version of the Orioles. Even Troy Smith is turning into Hayden Penn! Hopefully they can get their act together soon and maybe we can have a decent season.

Time to finish cleaning house on the locker room click of overpaid , under-motivated "stars". All these guys suddenly report to camp hurt and can't practice. By the way, Don Mattingly's career was not brief. He played 14 season's(all in pinstripes), 1785 games, 7003 at bats and a career batting average of .307. This Raven's team may not have hit bottom yet. Flacco is the man.

The first post in this thread HAS to be some braindead Cleveland troll. That could not possibly have been a Ravens fan calling out a guy who sells his body out on every play and is already one of the greatest safeties in NFL history. No Raven fan could possibly be that dumb, right Pete?

how in the world is one week going to make a difference for ed reed !!! if he can not play , shelf him for the year. this should be ray lewis last year too, love ya ray but the raven team needs to move on. plus use the money on the future ravens

Doug ur the dumbest person i've ever heard on the baltimore sun site. and believe me i've heard some very dumb people here. your theory is horrible. So the only time a player will play would be in the last year of their contract? is that what your saying? I mean forget the fact that they worked all their life to play the game that they love at its highest level. These players are not playing b/c they got money for playing very well in recent seasons? So ed reed paid off all 4 doctors in all these different US states so he didnt have to play hard? Mcgahee faked that usual career ending injury in college so he could not try for one season? O come on Doug use some common sense

Don't forget Glenn Davis' broken jaw trying to break up a fight. Rabbit's foot?...Davis shoulda worn a mastadon foot. Take all that HOF stuff with a grain of salt. Why did it take the NFL's all-time INT leader(81) 19 years to get into the HOF?(who was it guys?)

If you have the ability and the drive to play in the NFL, it would take a whole lot of pain to keep you from playing. Especially if your a Raven. One criteria to become a Raven is you have to love to play. Every Raven has a passion for the game and not only love to play but love to even practice.{ this info is based on all the many live interviews Ive seen and not some b.s. some reporter cooked up] If ed reed or mcgahee is sidelined , its killing them to not be in there.{ and ed IS one of the best safetys ever.

I had a pinched nerve in my neck and it was no picnic, both in terms of numbness and pain. The problem is that the nerves pass out of the neck through the vertibrae, which act like clamps on them if they are out of position. And if those clamps do enough damage, it's permanent. I wasn't guaranteed I'd get all the feeling back in my arm and hand when I was operated on, but luckily I did.

Doug, really? Really? I hate to use ad hominem argumentation, especially right off the bat, but you just provided one of the most ridiculous comments I have ever seen.

I love how a lot of people forget the fact that Reed was the only playmaker in the secondary for most of the season last year after the tumultuous Cincy game that racked our D.

Why would this be important to remember you might be thinking? You try covering the whole field where you have a nickel and dime playing your 1 and 2. The reason Reed was "out of position" so much was because he was cleaning up a lot of mistakes.

It seems Reed played pretty well when the secondary made its first full appearance when they played the Patriots---you might recall what the D did to the Pats that game.

So before you go spouting out illogicities such as Reed being greedy, why don't you actually watch a game and look at all the data; it might save you some intelligence points.

I don't believe you have to be 17 years old to go ahead and talk about Ed Reed in the greatest category.

Case and point: No one in the league has had more INTs than Reed (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2008-07-08-top-five-safeties_N.htm). That has to be saying something.

Well Reed can only ball hawk? Look at his tackles when he was underneath. For a stat comparison: Reed's total tackles in 2002 are just a few tackles shy of the well-established run-stopper Dawkins career high tackles. So, when Reed needs to be a tackler he can.

Reed's playmaking instincts at the safety position can easily be entered into the greatest conversation. I concur it is too early to proclaim Reed the greatest, but I definitely dissent with your claim that Reed cannot statistically compete with the older generation.

FYI: After their first 6 seasons: Lott had 33 picks, Reed had 34 picks. Lott has a career (15 seasons) 730 INT yds as Reed has after 6 seasons 880 INT yds and just 2 INT TDS fewer than Lott (5-3).

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About Peter Schmuck

Peter Schmuck wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, he is more than just a bon vivant, raconteur and collector of blousy flowered shirts. He is a semi-respected journalist who has covered virtually every sport -- except luge, of course – and tackled issues that transcend the mere games people play. If that isn’t enough to qualify him to provide witty, wide-ranging commentary on the sports world ... and the rest of the world, for that matter ... he is an avid reader of history, biography and the classics, as well as a charming blowhard who pops off on both sports and politics on WBAL Radio. That means you can expect a little of everything in The Schmuck Stops Here, but the major focus will be keeping you up to the minute on Baltimore’s major sports teams and themes, whether it’s throwing up the Orioles lineup the minute it’s announced or updating you on the latest sprained ankle in Owings Mills. Oh, and by the way, that’s Mr. Schmuck to you.